When it comes to entrepreneurship, a Shakespearean question is always asked, or what is the same thing: to BE or NOT TO BE of our business project. Do I need funding to get customers? o If I have customers what do I need funding for? Some questions that were addressed in the BBVA Innovation Center Where did the event take place”Initiator: Funding lines for entrepreneurs”. It was a meeting, held last Thursday, November 14, that brought together both investors and entrepreneurs at the same table. Agustín Cuenca, founder and CEO of ASPGEMS, stated there that”there are many entrepreneurs obsessed with getting investment when they should be obsessed with getting customers”. Cuenca, who doesn't like the word entrepreneur but an initiator, and in fact he has started many projects in his long career that have now become companies (BeRuby or ideas4all), explained that if you dedicate yourself to looking for customers, things change substantially. In this line, he also spoke Javier Megías, who defines himself as an artisan consultant, in a recent post entitled”69 Things I've Learned Working with Startups and Investors”. Among the 69 the number 9 says”first worry about customers, and then look for investment”; the 11 advises”No need to dive headlong into the pool, it's better to first look for water (customers)”; 27 recommends”Spend less time painting canvas and more time talking to clients”; the 38 urges”Stop worrying about looking for aid, grants and more... and focus on looking for customers” and 39 warns”A paying customer is worth more than 1,000 likes on Facebook. Even if it's only 5 euros” .Because according to the speakers, seeking funding is a job that requires time. Negotiating with investors takes at least 2-6 months and is a time when you can't be looking for clients, they say. In any case, according to them, if you think that funding is necessary; it is important that you know the criteria that investors use when evaluating the possibility of investing in an entrepreneur's project. Cedric Kutlu, entrepreneur & VC Internet & Mobile Investments at Kibo Ventures, when asked about them during the course of the event, summarized them as follows: the equipment, the product, the market and the investment conditions. However, Kutlu stresses that in this process, the entrepreneur's ability to seduce remains fundamental. In Intelectium we have also described What are investors looking for in this other article, by Patricio Hunt @patriciohunt.Continuing with Initiator, between the two, a source of funding via investors or clients, there is an intermediate solution: crowdfunding. Crowdfunding for Gregorio López-Triviño Barras, partner at Taunology S.L, where ROI matters less. One of their most interesting options is the possibility of giving a reward with a product test. In this way, while selling, a community of customers is being created. Although López-Triviño Barras warns that it doesn't work with all products. However, after all this, Javier Megías offers us his 69th recommendation:”Forget everything I said and find your own way”.BBVA Instagram photo.
